Omar Sharif
Omar Sharif was an Egyptian actor best known for his roles in the films Doctor Zhivago and Lawrence of Arabia. In the latter he played Sherif Ali opposite Peter O'Toole’s T.E. Lawrence.
The Egyptian-born performer received Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for his supporting role in Lawrence, which was released in 1962. Based on the true story of the brilliant but controversial British soldier, it won seven Oscars, including best picture and best director for David Lean.
Doctor Zhivago, also directed by Lean, was released three years later. Adapted from the novel by Boris Pasternak, the film starred Sharif as Russian poet-physician Yuri Zhivago opposite Julie Christie. It was a huge commercial success and, adjusted for inflation, is the eighth-highest-grossing movie in domestic history at $1.03 billion in today's dollars.
Sharif also appeared with Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl and Funny Lady as the smooth-talking gambler Nicky Arnstein. His other films include The Fall of the Roman Empire, Behold a Pale Horse, Marco the Magnificent, The Yellow Rolls-Royce, The Night of the Generals, Mayerling, Mackenna's Gold, The Appointment, The Horsemen and The Tamarind Seed. He also played the title character in Genghis Khan and 1969’s Che!. In the 2004 film Hidalgo, about a 3,000-mile trans-Arabian horse race, he played a breeder of the world's finest stallions.
Omar Sharif was an Egyptian actor best known for his roles in the films Doctor Zhivago and Lawrence of Arabia. In the latter he played Sherif Ali opposite Peter O'Toole’s T.E. Lawrence.
The Egyptian-born performer received Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for his supporting role in Lawrence, which was released in 1962. Based on the true story of the brilliant but controversial British soldier, it won seven Oscars, including best picture and best director for David Lean.
Doctor Zhivago, also directed by Lean, was released three years later. Adapted from the novel by Boris Pasternak, the film starred Sharif as Russian poet-physician Yuri Zhivago opposite Julie Christie. It was a huge commercial success and, adjusted for inflation, is the eighth-highest-grossing movie in domestic history at $1.03 billion in today's dollars.
Sharif also appeared with Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl and Funny Lady as the smooth-talking gambler Nicky Arnstein. His other films include The Fall of the Roman Empire, Behold a Pale Horse, Marco the Magnificent, The Yellow Rolls-Royce, The Night of the Generals, Mayerling, Mackenna's Gold, The Appointment, The Horsemen and The Tamarind Seed. He also played the title character in Genghis Khan and 1969’s Che!. In the 2004 film Hidalgo, about a 3,000-mile trans-Arabian horse race, he played a breeder of the world's finest stallions.
Sharif, who spoke five languages, also starred in 26 Egyptian, and two French films. Additionally, he had roles in several television movies and miniseries, including The Far Pavilions (about forbidden love, set in 1800s India), Pleasure Palace, Peter the Great, Harem, Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna, Memories of Midnight, Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris (with Angela Lansbury), Lie Down with Lions, 1996’s Gulliver's Travels (starring Ted Danson) and Catherine the Great (starring Catherine Zeta-Jones).
He also wrote several books, including the 1977 autobiography The Eternal Male, as well as two well-received works on the game of bridge, one of his passions.
Sharif died July 10, 2015, in Cairo, Egypt. He was 83.
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